Travelling Light: Yes, Koh Samui rocks

Koh Samui rocks. In fact, this island in the Gulf of Siam is all about rocks - big rocks, bigger rocks, characterful rocks, and even fibreglass rocks for those who lack natural granite and common sense. The original rock is at Tamarind Springs, the herbal spa retreat now in the process of going back to its roots. This muchphotographed boulder was cloned and plonked down in so many Koh Samui spas, that Tamarind was forced to hit back with the mother of all rocks. An even larger boulder.

On Koh Samui, the most active denizens used to be the monkeys. Monkeys do less work these days, its impact evident in the slowing economy. Then there are the tigers. They do a show too. Butterflies brazenly strut their stuff as do slithering snakes. Much has changed in this prepubescent version of Phuket, and not just the range of "colonic irrigation" on offer at burgeoning spas. A slew of new chic resorts and an airport upgrade may just get this sleepy island firmly on the map.

So what's new?

The 20yearold Tongsai Bay continues to reinvent itself. The Grand Villas are huge. There is no other word to describe them. You walk into a very spacious verandah with teak flooring, a fourposter day bed, a gleaming white bathtub and a kitchenette with bar. Entertain, read, or get up to mischief here (though, embar¬rassingly, you may be visible to others).

The Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui is the island's latest topend entrant, offering a ver¬dant hillside escape with the obligatory sea views and sway¬ing coconut palms. Guests arrive at a minimalist Zen holding area with barely a hint of development before being whisked down a vertiginous path to a breezy Living Room with sweeping views, ponds and circular divans offering chess and other distractions.

While the villa exteriors are stodgy grey, the stilted sup¬ports exposed to the elements, the interiors are swish. The Spa is the high point of any stay here. The main pool over¬looking a private arcing bay is a treat. Not large but classy. Despite the tedium of enforced buggy rides up and down overly steep roads, the Four Seasons Resort promises to set a new benchmark for luxury.

The new Karma Samui holds much promise. Its attractive villas are unfortunately stacked too close together, connected by a narrow Monte Carlo Formula 1 "S" path that winds down the hillside, with tight switchbacks, to the beach area. No overtaking.

There are 36 pool villas (some with four bedrooms) facing a sand beach - fringed by rocks at the waterline - that greet the sunrise. Coral Bay Resort on Ya Noi Bay is a wonderfully uncomplicated hideaway. It has made a quiet comeback with a nice cafe overlooking the pool and beach, and simple but charming wooden bungalows with rattan furniture, timber beams, thatch roofs and bamboo fourposter beds.

The Central Samui Beach Resort has been rechristened the Centara Grand Beach Resort Samui as part of a groupwide rebranding. This is a grand colonnaded establishment straight out of "Gone With the Wind" with a huge grass lawn offering a counterpoint to the stark white building.

A breath of fresh air in Chaweng is the Library in inspired contemporary design - twostorey units resembling the early Macintosh computers spaced out on either side of a wooden walkway leading to the sea. Everything is in neat squares, geo¬metric, in place, and white, save for the large seafront pool with its dark red tiles that come alight at sunrise and sunset. There is none of that cramthemallin sense that one gets at so many new establishments. Expect a flatscreen TV, wireless headphones, an iMac, free Broadband and an iPod dock.

Another Chaweng newcomer is the Briza Beach Resort & Spa, Samui, with smart villas (some with pools) designed in the Srivijaya empire style. Expect canopied beds, gauzy cur¬tains, butler service, nonallergenic pillows, 29inch flatscreen TVs, DVD players, wifi and elegant facilities. If there is a downside, it is that the Briza is a tad overbuilt with not enough space for genuine privacy.

At the secluded southern end of Chaweng, the smartly ren¬ovated Imperial Samui Hotel projects a profoundly Mediterranean ambience with its white stucco cakeicing exterior. There are quite a few steps down past the freshwater pool through the gardens to the magnificent and startlingly white Tara Restaurant with huge views of the shimmering sea over the second pool.

The much transformed Rocky's Boutique Resort is a taste¬ful escape with shimmering silk, timber, red parasols, mani¬cured plants and a very cosy pool area. Eight new Deluxe Junior Suite Ocean View villas offer spacious 42squaremetre interiors, roomy, lightfilled bathrooms, and flashes of rich Thai silk.

Find a smart monkey - one not engaged in a show - and have him organise a room booking.

by Vijay Verghese